Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $205.6364.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BDX. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company from $224.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Argus lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $197.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $202.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Becton, Dickinson and Company news, EVP Michael David Garrison sold 629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.03, for a total value of $123,302.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,568,973.15. The trade was a 4.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bertram L. Scott sold 217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.58, for a total value of $38,317.86. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 35,816 shares in the company, valued at $6,324,389.28. This trade represents a 0.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,052 shares of company stock worth $201,235. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BDX. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company by 98.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,770 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 85.3% in the first quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 5,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 33.3% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,408 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 3,563.3% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 7.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 14,136 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

NYSE:BDX opened at $195.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.57, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $190.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.68. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $162.29 and a twelve month high of $251.99.

Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a net margin of 7.68% and a return on equity of 16.42%. The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 8th will be paid a $1.05 dividend. This is a positive change from Becton, Dickinson and Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Becton, Dickinson and Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.04%.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX) is a global medical technology company that develops, manufactures and sells a broad range of medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. BD’s products are used by healthcare institutions, clinical laboratories, life science researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to enable safe, effective delivery of care, specimen collection and diagnostic testing. The company’s operations span multiple business areas focused on medical devices, life sciences research tools and interventional technologies.

BD’s product portfolio includes single-use medical devices such as syringes, needles, needlesafety and injection systems, infusion therapy and medication management solutions, as well as vascular access, urology and oncology devices acquired through its interventional business.